The Hottest Permits: Get Your Summer Planning on Now

Be a planning pro. Now is the time to start reserving permits for those high demand places.

Permit and campground reservation season is upon us. Many of the most popular trails have already opened their online systems for reservations -- some of these already have most of their reservations spoken for (ahem...Havasupai). Don't miss out on your ideal adventure this year, make sure you nab the permits you want. Here's a break down of some of the hottest commodity permits in the West you can still reserve:

Permit reservations of the summer 2018 season open on March 15th. This is a 93 mile trail that circumnavigates Mt. Rainier. The park service instituted an online permit reservation system last year, but rangers still process the trip itinerary's since people can submit multiple itinerary options. So, don't call and ask for updates -- it slows down the process for all of us. It can take up to 6 weeks to hear back.

The lottery is now opening for late August entry. You can also check the permit quote for select trailheads to see what the availability is -- it's still early enough to reserve high demand trailheads.

For us PNWers, this is one of the most accessible, popular volcanoes to climb. Online reservations opened on Feb. 26 and were sold out quickly. April still has availability, which is a great time to go for skiing/boarding with the right weather window.